Chapter 2:

They stopped at a motel once they'd crossed the border into Idaho, the neon red Vacancy sign gleaming off the building's windows. The driver of the Impala, who Max had learned was called Dean, turned around to her. "I'm gonna go get a room. I'm just gonna tell them it's me and my brother. Alright?"

"I should leave," Max told him quietly, though she still clutched the blanket that was wrapped around her.

Dean glanced to Sam, unsure.

"Max, you're still on the run from…whoever," Sam said to her. "You don't have to tell us what's going on if you don't want to, but at least let us help you."

"Why would you want to help me?" she asked, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Honestly? Cause that's what we do. And we do it pretty well," Sam murmured.

Max stared at him. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

Sam stared back at her, as if not sure what to say. She wasn't sure why. It was a very straightforward question.

"Granted," Dean said softly.

"I don't know you. And I don't trust you," Max told them.

"We don't expect you to trust us," Dean replied. "I'll give you a weapon if it'll make you feel safer. A knife or something. I mean you're a young girl staying with two guys you don't know. If I was in your position, I wouldn't trust us either."

Max hesitated. "I reserve the right to leave when I want to. No questions asked."

"Of course," Sam said, and Dean nodded in agreement.

Averting her gaze, Max nodded in return. "All right."

Dean got a room and she walked inside with them, scanning it for exits, weapons, anything suspicious.

"Max," Sam said, putting his bag on the bed and opening it.

Max turned to him. "Yes sir?"

Sam looked over and blinked at her again before reaching into his bag and taking something out. "Uh…you can take the shower first if you want. Your clothes aren't completely dry, so I'll give you one of my shirts to wear. We can get you some clothes and stuff from a thrift store tomorrow," he said, handing her the shirt he was holding. His voice was quiet-like, almost like he was afraid he was going to scare her away.

Max carefully took it from him. "I don't have any money, sir. I'll have to acquire funds first."

"We can buy the clothes, Max," Sam said slowly.

Max did some more staring, her expression indecipherable, before she nodded and walked into the bathroom, closing the door. She counted to ten before she turned on the shower, then walked over to the door and sat down, closing her eyes. The boys waited a few seconds before they started talking.

"So what's with her?" Dean asked. Max realized that it wasn't a unkind statement though. It sounded almost worried.

"I have no idea," Sam said with a sigh. "I mean the clothes she's in aren't typical PJ's. She's a girl and she has a military buzz cut."

"Forget her appearance, Sam. I'm talking about her attitude," Dean responded. "She walks, talks, acts like a soldier."

Max narrowed her eyes, confused, as she stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. That's what she was. Why would she act like anything else? Of course, they didn't know that was what she was. And if they were so baffled by the fact that she was a soldier, Max realized that Zach must have been right. There was something else outside the fence. Outside their world. Maybe Ben had been right. Maybe there was a place out there, the Good Place. But then did that mean there was a Bad Place too?

If the two boys were surprised at her behavior, Max knew that meant she wouldn't blend in. And evading capture depended on blending in. So that meant she had to mimic Sam and Dean's behavior so she could be like everyone else. Of course, she had to act like a girl, so she couldn't mimic their behavior exactly. Just vaguely. She would have to pay attention to others when they went out. Mimic them.

"But how could she have gotten that kind of training?" Sam asked, jarring Max from her thoughts. "You think some Marine-gone-psycho had her as a daughter and trained her from day one?"

"That's one idea, but you think he'd have his own personal helo' to go chasing after her in?"

"True. And the tattoo on the back of her neck."

"Yea, I noticed that too," Dean muttered. "Who the hell barcodes a kid? Like she's a thing instead of a person?"

"I don't know. A little Auschwitz if you ask me."

With a sharp, worried breath, Max looked down to her hands, realizing they'd started shaking. Oh no. That was one thing she had been worried about. Getting the shakes. In Manticore, they gave could give them shots of tryptophan and most of the time it would help. But outside she wasn't sure where to get it.

The shakes started to spread through Max's body and she stumbled slightly, falling into the wall.

"Max? You okay?" Sam asked.

Fear came then. She knew she couldn't let them know what was wrong with her. They wouldn't want to help her if she was trouble.

"Fine, sir," Max said as firmly as she could. Her voice was shaky though and not as hard as she'd wanted it to be. But all she had to do was wait it out. It would stop eventually.

Max sat down on the floor, wrapping her arms around her legs, hugging them to her chest as she shivered. She heard footsteps approach and stop outside the door and she closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on stopping the shakes. She was sure he could hear her heart pounding in her chest, much less hear her shaking.

"Max…can I come in?" He took her hesitation as a yes, apparently, and opened the door. She shut her eyes, unsure of what he'd do. "Oh God, Max, come here." He leaned forward and picked her up gently in his arms as she shook. She hated that she was so helpless to someone that she barely knew and could turn on her. But she had the shakes; she wasn't in any condition to fight back.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, instantly by Sam's side. "Is she having a seizure?"

"No," she managed to choke out. "Sh-Shakes."

"Shakes," Sam repeated, sitting down on the bed with her in his arms. "Do you have a condition? Were you given any drugs that could cause this?"

"N-No."

"Is there medication that could help?"

"Tryp-Trypto…phan," she told him.

"Tryptophan?" Sam asked, narrowing his eyes.

"What? What is that?" Dean asked.

"It's just…an amino acid. You have a deficiency?" Sam asked her.

Max looked up at him and he made out her nod through the shaking.

"God that's weird. Okay." He looked up to Dean. "That's easy. You can get supplements at any pharmacy."

"Tryptophan. Got it," Dean said. He grabbed his jacket, putting it on and taking out his keys before he was out the door.

Max closed her eyes as she shook, trying to pretend that it was Zach holding her instead of Sam. She kept herself calm with the fact that he didn't seem to want to hurt her. He wouldn't be helping her if he did. Or at least that's what she told herself.

"How long does this last?" Sam asked quietly.

"D-Depends," she stammered.

"Okay. Well I'm not going anywhere," he told her, tightening his grip the slightest bit.